Cosby photo removed from Midland Theatre gallery

NEWARK – The most famous star to perform at The Midland Theatre since it re-opened has been removed from the theater's photo gallery inside the ticket office.

Comedian Bill Cosby, who thrilled a Midland Theatre audience on Sept. 14, 2002, and returned 10 years later, is no longer included among the signed photos of famous stars who entertained there following his conviction on three counts of aggravated indecent assault.

Midland Theatre Executive Director Nancy Anderson said Cosby's photo has been taken down, likely to be replaced by LeeAnn Rimes, who performs on Saturday.

There had not been a discussion of removing Cosby's photo, Anderson said, until the conviction.

"The board and I felt it was time to remove the photo," Anderson said. "Being respectful and sensitive to what's taken place, it was time to bring the photo down. It's very sad."

A jury found Cosby guilty of drugging and molesting Andrea Constand at his home in January 2004.

Montgomery County District Attorney Kevin Steele said the trials "revealed a man who spent decades preying on women, drugging and sexually assaulting them, who evaded this moment for far too long and used his network of supporters to help him conceal his crimes."

Cosby was charged in December 2015, just weeks before Pennsylvania's unusually lengthy statute of limitations on sex crimes was about to expire. In the previous year, Cosby was accused by 60 women who said Cosby drugged and assaulted them in episodes dating back to the mid-1960s.

"He did have a very important part of our past," Anderson said. "Like so many others, we're saddened by the actions of Mr. Cosby and our hearts go out to the victims."

The theater's gallery includes about 100 photos, of the approximately 700 or 800 who have performed since the 2002 re-opening, Anderson said.